A hi-speed offshore crew transfer catamaran is under construction in the Incat Tasmania shipyard whose speed and passenger comfort, designers Incat Crowther say, will make it more cost-effective for transfers of crew and cargo supply operations to offshore platforms than a helicopter. A bold claim and worth looking at.
Helicopter replacement Hi-speed crew transfer cat: Image courtesy Incat Crowther
The new 70-m (230-ft) vessel due for launch in 2014 will be capable of carrying 150 passengers and 14 crew, along with 200 metric tons of deck cargo, and is the largest so far to be fitted with HamiltonJet propulsion. Power comes from four 2880 kW MTU 16V 4000 series M73L engines rated at 2050 rpm, driving two 900mm diameter waterjet pumps to give an expected top speed of 36 knots with an efficient service speed of 30 knots at full load and 90% MCR. In conjunction with the propulsion water jets, four azimuthing drop-down thrusters forward will help take care of the maneuvering demands ... [More]

Incat Crowther, Australia, has announced a first of type 70m Catamaran Fast Crew Boat (FCB), compliant with IMO HSC code and complete with a crew transfer system consisting of dynamic positioning equipment class (DP2) coupled with a stabilized access platform. Construction of the vessel has commenced at the shipbuilder Incat Tasmania, with delivery scheduled for September 2014. The new crew transfer vessels will be delivered to Caspian Marine Services Ltd (CMS) in Baku, Azerbaijan.
The vessel will operate as a fast crew transfer vessel for 150 offshore workers to multiple offshore installations. The hull design has been optimized for high speed transits with specific features to limit the sea sickness of transiting offshore workers. The on-board noise, vibration and indoor climate is in accordance with DNV comfort class notation. The vessel is designed to operate in sea conditions of 40 knot wind and seas of 3m significant wave height.
The high speed of the 70m FCB allows operat... [More]

A diesel-electric hybrid power and propulsion contract for an unusual catamaran dive support vessel (DSV) has been won by Canada-based Aspin Kemp & Associates (AKA) who solved the owner’s quest for a system that would operate at peak efficiency while ensuring that safety and redundancy measures were in place. Australia’s Bhagwan Marine’s 56-m DSV was designed by Incat Crowther, also in Australia, and is to be built at the Keppel Singmarine shipyard in Singapore.
Multi-purpose Dive Support Vesse: Image courtesy of Incat Crowther
Now, here’s a Swiss Army knife of an offshore vessel if ever there was one, designed from the keel up to perform six key roles: dive support, geophysical survey, geotechnical survey, cargo transport, hyperbaric rescue and safety standby. Such varied roles demand a multitude of propulsion responses, including liberal idle times while under way, and AKA’s ‘Duty-cycle analysis’ with its XeroPoint Hybrid system see... [More]

Incat Crowther's USA office has developed a new design, to meet the specifications of the Petrobras P3-type crew boat for service in the Brazilian offshore oil fields.The vessel’s design closer resembles that of a supply vessel with large 840 ft2 (78 m2) main cargo deck aft with capacity of 150 tons for supply transfers of cargoes. The main cabin has accommodation for 60 seated passengers and has a crew of seven. The 148 ft (45 aluminium hull is propelled by four Caterpillar C32 Acert diesel engines rated at 1,082 kW (1,450 hp) driving Doen waterjets giving a maximum speed of 32 kn [More]